144 tonnes of plastic is a good reason to make the switch to an eco-friendly toothbrush

We tend to think of buying and using a toothbrush as a simple, mindless task. All we have to do is pick up a brush, take it home, and put it to good use. But while this simple routine is great for our teeth, it can be bad news for our environment.

Many of us don’t even think about the toothbrushes we discard. New Zealanders buy and dispose of approximately 8 million toothbrushes every year: the equivalent of around 144 tonnes of plastic. And because 99% of those brushes are made of polypropylene (a material derived from non-renewable fossil fuels) they’ll never biodegrade. Instead, they’ll persist in soil and seawater for hundreds of years, and will release toxic greenhouse gases directly into the atmosphere if incinerated.

It’s a problem on a global scale, and we’ve created it through our careless consumption. Experts estimate that deep-sea gyres like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch currently contain about 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris, each of which poses a dire threat to the health of our seabirds and marine life. Soon, we’ll be dumping 155 million tonnes of waste into the sea each year, and experts predict that by 2050, our oceans will contain more plastic than fish.

But there’s still a glimmer of hope. Small actions can have huge consequences, and as consumers, we can divert a significant amount of waste from landfills and coastlines, just by making conscious and informed decisions about the products we use (twice) daily.

Switching to an eco-friendly toothbrush is the perfect place to start, and it’s never been simpler to find great alternatives to mainstream products. Sustainable and biodegradable toothbrushes feature in most supermarkets, pharmacies and organic stores and are an excellent choice for the eco-conscious.

Meet Grin’s new Charcoal-Infused Biodegradable Brush

We’ve just added a new range of compostable plastic toothbrushes to our eco-friendly collection. Made of non-GMO corn starch, the handle of the Charcoal-Infused Biodegradable Brush is designed to break down within a year in an at-home compost bin.

Our cardboard packaging is also entirely biodegradable, and the non-toxic, recyclable clear-seal is made of the raw material PIA. The charcoal-infused bristles on all our toothbrushes whiten teeth while keeping bacteria at bay, and can be cleanly removed and recycled through our recycling program.